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contraception mandate

President Donald J. Trump in early May signed an executive order that hinted at future attacks on religious freedom (see “Out of Order” in the June issue of Church & State). Less than a month later, his administration was poised to follow through.

The news website Vox on May 31 published a leaked draft of proposed regulation changes that would allow employers and universities to use religion as an excuse to deny employees and students insurance coverage for contraceptives.

A leaked order indicates that the Trump administration is planning to allow businesses to refuse to cover birth control in health care plans if the employer has a religious or moral objection to it.

Under the Trump plan, there is no provision for women who lose access to contraceptives. They’re out of luck. Rather than provide for them, Trump and his Religious Right allies are attacking Planned Parenthood, an organization that assists women who need help paying for birth control.

Justices Delay Dealing With Crucial Issue

May 16, 2016

The U.S. Supreme Court today took a pass on dealing with the important question of access to birth control, an action that could leave tens of thousands of women in limbo, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

In a brief order issued this morning, the high court vacated several cases before it dealing with employee access to birth control and sent them back to lower courts for more proceedings.

The U.S. Supreme Court in March heard oral arguments in a case that will determine whether religiously affiliated non-profits have the right to deny women employees access to birth control on the basis of the groups’ theological beliefs.

The March 23 argument lasted 90 minutes and was marked by spirited exchanges and sharp questioning from the justices. A clear division emerged from the court’s liberal and conservative wings, leading some analysts to speculate that the high court may split 4-4.

Political allies of the Religious Right, like U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), are trying to convince the American public that the federal government wants to force nuns to buy birth control.

“You know, every American should know about the Little Sisters of the Poor,” Cruz said during an address at the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., in 2014. “You want to talk about values? Right now the federal government is suing the Little Sisters of the Poor to try to force Catholic nuns to pay for abortion-inducing drugs.”

A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of Washington state regulations that require pharmacies to fill prescriptions that their owners may find objectionable, a decision applauded by Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

The July 23 ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals protects Americans’ access to necessary medications and health care, AU said.

A Missouri state representative who wants to stop his daughters from accessing birth control recently won a victory in his ongoing suit against the Affordable Care Act’s contraception regulations when the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to hear arguments in his challenge to the regulations, thus reversing a lower court ruling that threw the case out on standing.